Leseprobe

127 Ideal portrait of a Young Woman Tullio Lombardo (attributed to) Carona? c. 1455–1532 Venice 1525/1530 Marble; 49.2×40×8.5 cm Given as a gift by Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia c. 1723/1726 Inv. no. H4 118/255 Deriving from the ownership of the Prussian king Friedrich I, this work was de- scribed as a classical portrait of Livia in the lavish catalogue of the Brandenburg art collection published in 1701. Between 1723 and 1726 King Friedrich Wilhelm I gifted his collection of antiquities to Augustus the Strong, and in this way the supposed relief of Livia came to Dresden, where it was held to be an original work of classical art until well into the 19th century. However, it is in fact a typical creation of the Venetian High Renaissance, and can be attributed to Tullio Lom- bardo himself or to one of his best assistants. Tullio was one of the foremost sculptors and architects in Venice at the beginning of the 16th century, running a large workshop producing altars, ornate sepulchral monuments and scuptural decoration for chapels. In addition, he made small reliefs intended for private collectors. Depicting one or sometimes two busts of beautiful women and men against a smooth background, these are ideal rather than realistic portraits. Curiously, the arms of most of the figures are cut off below the shoulder, as in the Dresden relief. This plays on a sophisticated level with the perception of viewers, who cannot be sure whether they are looking at a classical bust or a portrait of an individual. With these reliefs Tullio invented a new genre that satisfied the longing of his times for pseudo-classical fantasy.  |  ckg